Alberto
The use of 'up' in some phrasal verbs Hi everyone. I do not know how to explain it exactly but I would like to know what is the meaning of 'up' in some phr. verbs. Example: Clean and clean up, they both means limpiar, live and live up, I think they both means vivir. There are a lot of phrasal verbs like these and I have seen it with out and down. I hope you have understood what I'm trying to ask.
Dec 17, 2014 9:05 PM
Answers · 1
Phrasal verbs are very, very flexible expressions, so a single definition is usually misleading or wrong. For the second part of a phrasal verb (eg. "up"), it's a very bad idea to look for one single definition - you'll end up making even more mistakes in English! However, sometimes "up" (as well as "down", "out" and "off") can suggest the action leads to a certain result. This is hardly a perfect explanation and you will find hundreds if not thousands of exceptions, but it may sometimes clarify a subtle difference.
December 17, 2014
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